I often think that if I gave my personal life the time, effort, and enthusiasm that I’ve historically given to my professional life, things would be very different. I’d probably be making a priority of getting enough sleep, eating nutritious food, and getting enough exercise. Instead of burning the midnight oil expending time and energy on work projects in off-hours, I might spend that time with family or friends, or put it into a hobby or interest. Instead of focusing on “finding efficiencies” or “maximizing resources” in my professional life, I’d probably be focusing on how to live within my means, how to have enough but not too much, how to live a life of comfort, not excess, and how to sustain myself and my family without exploiting other people, resources, or things in the process.
I’ve been thinking lately of the concept of retrenchment. When a business is struggling, one of the strategies it can consider is to retrench – to scale back on operations and activities in order to focus on certain key areas of the business. The goal is to find a path to sustainability and – ideally – growth and profitability long-term. Retrenchment can be a valuable tool for companies in financial difficulty, but it can also present a useful model for people weathering tough times too.
When we’re in the midst of a time of uncertainty or transition – maybe it’s the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, or we’re dealing with an illness or injury – retrenchment can be a viable – even necessary – strategy. Dr. Phil Stutz, a psychiatrist and the subject of the documentary film Stutz, argues that when you’re overwhelmed by difficulty and find yourself at a loss for what to do next, focusing on what he calls your “Life Force” can offer you the direction you need to find your way through it. Stutz says that your Life Force is like a pyramid with 3 parts – your Body (the foundation), People (the middle layer), and your Self (the apex).
Stutz says that the foundational step to the Life Force is to get your body working better. He says that people who come to see him with depression or anxiety are often not taking care of their bodies – their diet, exercise routines, and sleep patterns have all deteriorated. He says that in the vast majority of cases (he estimates 85%), focusing on the body can result in immediate improvements to mental well-being.
Stutz says that the next step is to focus on People – on your relationships. He says that when people get depressed, it’s not that they end their relationships, but that it’s like a ship disappearing over the horizon – they start to pull back from their life. He says that relationships are like handholds that help to pull you back in.
The highest tier in the Life Force pyramid is your relationship with your Self. Stutz says that getting into a relationship with your unconscious through meditation or journaling, for example, can be a powerful tool to generate insight and perspective.
Stutz says that by connecting to your Life Force, you can start to understand what you’re really passionate about. If you’re feeling like you’re adrift and not sure how to help yourself or where to start, focusing on your Life Force can offer a simple and accessible way to begin – Stutz says that if that’s the only thing you do, it can be enough to drive everything else in a positive direction.
Let’s face it: life can be overwhelming. And when you’re dealing with something heavy, finding your way through it can feel daunting – even impossible. Retrenchment – going back to basics, focusing on essentials, and stripping away the noise – can give you the space and time to focus on what you need to do. It can give you a clear path to small but meaningful actions you can take to help yourself in the moment, and it can connect you with a circle of support to help see you through it.
We live in a world where the relentless pursuit of progress is seen as the normal way of things, and where the act of scaling back can be seen as a personal failure of sorts (“I just need to tough it out, to muscle through this bit and things will get better,” we tell ourselves). But this singular focus on progress can create lots of noise at times – like worries about disappointing other people, or not fulfilling our commitments, or not living up to our potential, or missing out on opportunities. If instead we considered the power of retrenchment during difficult times, we might well find ourselves with more focus, more self-compassion, more resilience, and more fortitude to weather the inevitable storms that come our way.
